Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Laela Jeyne Patterns just released The Summer 2017 Collection, Marisa's first pattern collection, and I am seriously in love with every single piece. With the kids home all summer long, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, easy to make and easy to wear clothes are always near and dear to my heart. There are six patterns in total, and I am super excited that I can make myself some staple summer pieces. I'll be ready for pretty much anything from hanging out at the zoo to a treasured date night. I'll even have something for the lake if we get that far this summer!

I would definitely say this is a beginner pattern; it's a very fast sew and is perfect for anyone wanting to try out sewing with knits. It was a little more form fitting that what I usually wear, but I have to say, I love it! It is so comfortable, and I used a double brushed poly knit from Knitpop so it was so very soft. I really loved that there were different cup sizes so I didn't have to wonder if I needed to adjust down for a good fit!

I made the hip length for this one. I'm not quite brave enough for anything shorter yet, but there is a short option if you prefer that. I really loved the length on me, and the bindings on the neck made for a cleaner finish that was more comfortable for me than a neckband. The Dahlia is such a versatile top that you can easily pair with jeans for everyday wear or with a skirt/slacks to dress it up. One blogger even made one in stretch velour!!

Oh, how I love this blouse! I made mine in a very lightweight woven from Sincerely Rylee, and it was so amazingly cool and breezy. I also opted for a lace zipper that was a smidge longer than the pattern called for so I did have to mod the zipper lines to make sure I had the zipper in the right place.

The Lily comes with the option of an A-line silhouette or a gathered front. I went with the A-line sleeveless option. I am so happy with how the A-line turned out, and I wasn't quite so self-conscious while I was wearing it around!

My favorite part of the top has to be the front darts. They pull the bust in a bit and made me feel elegant. My husband kept telling me to put that one top back on after I changed into PJs because he loved how this one turned out. He very rarely pays attention to my clothes so snaps to Marisa for this one! I paired this with a pencil skirt I made a few months ago, and suddenly, I was wishing we were on our way to date night. HA!

This one took a little longer to make because of the blouse's structure. DON'T let that scare you, though! Marisa walks through every step of construction in great detail so you can get everything put together. I would definitely suggest some familiarity with darts and zippers, though. It took me about an hour and a half to make the Lily, but the end result is so amazing that it makes it completely worth taking the extra time to get it right!

Both of these are amazingly fast and easy to sew up. My daughter has been learning to sew and use the Rosie to make her first clothing item! For hers, we chose a performance knit for the waistband, and it was perfect (if you want to use a woven fabric, there are also instructions to make a woven waistband). The recovery on the performance knit was sturdy enough that Nay didn't feel like she was fighting to keep her skirt on, and she's loving the twirl factor on it.

There are three silhouettes for this pattern: quarter, half, and full skirt. Nay wanted the half circle, and I went with a quarter circle. We both went with the knee length, because, again, it gets HOT here. You can also choose a maxi length if you are looking for something longer.

My Rose is a lightweight sweater knit from a mystery box from Sincerely Rylee, and it came out super comfy. I used the same fabric for the waist, and I think I'm going to go back and change that to something a little sturdier. I wasn't thinking right when I put that on there, and I definitely feel like I need something more to support the weight of the skirt. I really love that my skirt is a little more streamlined because it doesn't accentuate parts of me that I don't want to highlight. Here, I paired it with the Dahlia, and it was a perfect combo!

Swimsuit shopping is the bane of my existence. Nay acts like I'm driving us to our deaths so I was super stoked to see that swimwear is part of the collection. It was perfect timing because the kids were headed to camp, and Nay needed a one piece. Apparently, one piece suits are harder to find than the Holy Grail because we found nothing after four stores. I made her a size 7 and added 1" to the length. Turned out perfect! I also made her version fully lined with the side cutouts because they were cute. We decided to skip the ruffles on the top, but that is an option for both the Violet and Vi Vi.

The kids pretty much live in their swimsuits right now so the Vi Vi has seen a lot of love, and I am absolutely digging the crossover in front. In looking at other photos, I think I somehow managed to get it turned around the opposite way?!?

For my Violet, I added the built in bra as well as the full lining. I really appreciate the built in because the water is kind of cold when you first get in, and, um, yeah...My version was just a plain one piece, no ruffles, no cutouts. I did do a low back on mine while Nay wanted the higher back for hers. I was also a little worried about creepage, but the neighbors are happy to report that my bum stayed fully covered the whole time that I was in the yard with the kids!

Of all the pieces in the collection, these took the longest to make (mostly because I messed up a couple of times and swim wear is a booger to unpick), but man, that fit is so worth it in the end. I can't even get CLOSE to this kind of fit on my store bought suits!

As I said in the beginning, I seriously love every piece of this collection, and I am so excited to have some go to patterns for my summer wardrobe. Thanks so much for stopping by as we continue with the Laela Jeyne Summer Collection Tour! There are a lot of talented ladies sharing their creations with us this week so please stop by and show them some love. Laela Jeyne is also having a giveaway on her blog where you can win two patterns of your choice from the summer collection! Just head on over to the Laela Jeyne blog and take a look at the daily roundup posts to see who's coming up each day and to get to the Rafflecopter link to enter the drawing! Here's a look at who's already shared their makes and who's on deck over the next few days!

This is the summer of swim for my two water bugs. They literally get up, eat breakfast, and
roll out into the backyard to play in the pool. It doesn’t even matter what time it is. I realized last month that they have both
grown to the point that they don’t have any suits that fit them anymore, and my
daughter HATES store bought swimsuits. It
was right about this time that Snuggle My Baby Patterns released the Sunny Day Swimsuit (I did receive the pattern free from Jen Gunn as part of the testing group). It’s a two piece but still
extremely modest, which was perfect for Nay because she’s so very conservative
(I’m going to encourage that for as long as possible, to be honest). Just about this same time, Deb Zaleski posted a call for the swimwear blog tour! It was like the sewing fairies were lining
the stars up just right so I threw my name in the hat to join the tour!

We live in Oklahoma, and summers are VERY HOT…I’ve seriously
considered climbing in the freezer a few times to get away from the heat. We also live in Thunder country, and both
my niece and my daughter are crazy for anything Thunder. When I took them to the store to pick out
some swim fabrics, they both immediately beelined it to the orange and blue so Thunder
suits it was!

The Sunny Day Swimsuit is such a great pattern because it
offers the ease of a two piece while still covering up and keeping everything
modest. The front of the top and the bottoms
are lined so that there’s no worry about seethroughedness (real word…I’m vouching
for it!) when the suit gets wet.

I was pretty excited that this pattern ranges from 2T to 16
so I’ll get a lot of mileage from this one.
Nay is starting to hit the top of the size range for a lot of the
patterns that I have for her so I’m always looking for some that will give me a
little bit more use as she continues to grow up despite my attempts to stop the
process.

I was a little worried when the girls started playing that
they would get some creepage going on in the back, but there was solid coverage
that stayed in place even while they were running around the yard. I added the basketball appliques to the front of
the shirt to add a little fun to their suits (this is not part of the pattern).

As far as the pattern goes, I would definitely say this is
an advanced beginner pattern due to the swim fabric and the lining. I think that an adventurous beginner could
give it a go and do fine, but there might be a bit of trial and error with working
with swim fabric. I really loved that
this pattern includes layering so that I could only print the sizes that I
needed/wanted. There were also photos
for every step of the tutorial so that I could see what my suit SHOULD look
like and catch anything that looked like it might be off before it became disastrous.

This was a very quick sew.
I made four suits in two days, and I was able to add a little bit of fun
to them with relatively no major work.
After she got her Thunder suit, my daughter asked for a Star Trek suit
(gold because that’s what the bosses wear. HA!) and a red Power Ranger
suit. Challenge accepted so I made her a
couple more.

My son was a bit put out that I didn't make him a suit so I snuck a quick sew in for him as well and made him the Dominic's Board Shorts, also from Snuggle My Baby Patterns. This pattern ranges from 2T-12 so, again, there's a large range of sizes! I used board short fabric for this pair, but I've also used Dominic's to make regular shorts as well. My son loves anything with pockets so he has a place to stuff his treasures so these work well as regular shorts. This is another very quick sew, and it also includes photos for every step of the tutorial. It's a little bit of an earlier pattern, and it was released prior to Jen's move to layered patterns. There aren't very many pages for the entire pattern so it's not really a show stopper. The pieces are also nested so you can still go through and cut the sizes you need pretty easily. My son couldn't give a toot about themed swim gear so he picked out some skull and cross bones for his shorts. I've had it in my stash for ages, and he finally decided this year that he wants to use it so I'm happy to oblige!

Alright, so as with all of the LL&C, SJJ tours, there are some awesome prizes and contests going on so let's get some info out there for you to get entered into some prize drawings!

Today's Rafflecopter giveaway prize pack is a PDF pattern of choice from Gracious Threads and a $50 (USD) gift card from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. You just need to click the link below to get yourself entered for the daily drawing:

There's also a grand prize giveaway that you can enter! This is a pretty sweet prize pack as well: a $25 (USD) gift card to Phat Quarters, a $100 (AUD) gift card to Boo! Designs, a $20 (USD) gift card to Simply By Ti, AND the PDF swim bundle from Made By Jack's Mum (this is four patterns total):a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also enter the grand prize drawing by joining the Instagram contest! This is the first time LL&C, SJJ has done this type of contest, and it's a great way to join in and share some of your own swim creations! Here's how you can join in on Instagram:

1. Post your own creation on your Instagram account and use the hashtag #TheSwimsuitEditionTour. Also make sure to tag @luluandceleste and @deborahzaleski
2. REPOST the contest pic: Swimsuit Edition Contest Pic

AND for an extra entry, tag @phatquarters, @simplybyti, @boodesigns_kristie, and @madebyjacksmum on the pic of your creation!

If you do decide to join the Instagram contest, please take note of the following:

- Mark the photo public so that everyone can see your photos
- Make sure you share your photo on IG between June 26, 2017 at 12AM EST and July 2, 2017 at 1159PM EST only
- You must have sewn your suit in the month of June 2017.
- Can be any swimming item you WEAR...men, women, children, swimsuits, caps, coverups
- Can be something you've shared before (as long as it was sewn in June), but you need to repost it during the week of the contest with the hashtags and tags.
- Does not need to be modeled. You can post photos of flats if you prefer.

**The contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or associated with Instagram. By entering, you are confirming you are 13 years of age or older, release IG of any responsibility, and agree to IG's terms of usage.

All contests are open worldwide. Please note when redeeming your fabric gift certificates that you are responsible for any purchase amount above the amount of the certificate, to include shipping costs. You are also responsible for customs/duty fees as applicable to your country of residence.

Now there are a lot of stops on this tour, so be sure to check out the other bloggers and see what wondermousness (another real word...) everyone has sewn up for the tour. There are some pretty amazing creations out there that you can read about:

Finally, thanks so much to the sponsors who provided prizes for some awesome giveaways and for providing patterns to bloggers on this tour! Please take some time to show them some love as you are visiting some of the stops along the tour!

Thanks so much for reading along! I can't wait to see your creations on the Instagram contest!